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  • October 13, 2010 |

    Top names ready to battle for honours at 2010 British Legal Awards

    Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Hogan Lovells and Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) are among the firms shortlisted for a number of categories in the 2010 British Legal Awards. The group has been nominated for the much sought after Law Firm of the Year award alongside Clyde & Co, Sullivan & Cromwell and Travers Smith.

    1 minute read

  • October 13, 2010 |

    Leading firms vie for roles on first post-Lehman BarCap US roster

    Barclays Capital has kicked off a review of its legal advisers in the US, marking the first time the group has overhauled its panel since its acquisition of Lehman Brothers' US investment banking operations. The review, which is being led out of New York by Americas general counsel Michael Crowl, is believed to be part of a bid to reduce the number of external counsel after the bank's $1.75bn (£950m) acquisition of Lehman Brothers' North American investment banking and capital markets business in 2008.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Akzo ruling threatens an evidential Russian roulette

    The European Court of Justice's (ECJ's) judgment in Akzo Nobel Chemicals & Others v European Commission last month confirmed that for the purposes of European Union law, legal professional privilege will not apply to communications between in-house counsel and their clients. For a judgment that has essentially left the law unchanged, it has generated considerable adverse comment. It gets it wrong in a number of fundamental ways and, arguably, leaves the European Commission (EC) - whose work it primarily affects - on a collision course with the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Gibson Dunn boosts Dubai with Ashurst hire

    Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has launched a funds practice in its Dubai office following the hire of Ashurst partner Chezard Ameer. Ameer, who specialises in investment funds, including private equity, venture capital, infrastructure and real estate funds, is set to join the law firm in the coming months from the private investment funds group in Ashurst's Dubai practice.

    1 minute read

  • October 6, 2010 |

    Low-balling now common - but many think firms offer poor value for money

    Nearly nine out of 10 law firms are habitually offering discounts on their headline billing rates according to new research, which casts doubt on the value for money offered by commercial law firms. The latest Big Question poll of partners found that 88% of firms are typically offering discounts on their headline rates, with 42% usually discounting by 5%-10%, while just over a third usually cut rates by 10%-20%. One in 10 respondents said that their firms were regularly discounting headline rates by 20%-30% while 12% said their firms generally avoided discounting.

    1 minute read

  • September 29, 2010 |

    Travers and Camerons lead on £120m sale of PE firm spin-off

    Travers Smith and CMS Cameron McKenna have taken lead roles on private equity firm 3i's sale of National Car Parks (NCP) spin-off company NSL Services to a European buyout house. Travers private equity head Philip Sanderson led a team advising 3i on the £120m sale to AAC Capital Partners. The deal signed last week (20 September) and is set to close next month.

    1 minute read

  • September 29, 2010 |

    Dealmaker: Mark Soundy

    Weil Gotshal buyout veteran Mark Soundy on keeping it in the family and why you can't trust a banker

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  • September 23, 2010 |

    Ashurst structured finance chief Handling joins BarCap as EMEA GC

    Ashurst's head of securities and structured finance Erica Handling is leaving the firm to take up a new role as EMEA general counsel at Barclays Capital. Handling, who joined Ashurst in 2000, has significantly contributed to the development of the firm's global finance practice, and was part of the team that led the firm's surprise US law launch in February last year with the hire of a 10-partner structured finance team from US ally McKee Nelson.

    1 minute read

  • September 15, 2010 |

    Candover's fate marks the year of wine and vinegar

    Depending on where you sit, for private equity lawyers the announcement that Candover Investments is to go into run-off could be taken as either painfully symbolic of the humbling of Europe's buyout community or symbolic of nothing at all. These are confusing times for private equity advisers, who are trying to find their direction in a year frequently, if somewhat hopefully, described as a "great vintage" for buyouts. Even if such sentiments are pushing it a bit, the logic is understandable. Private equity has traditionally done its best deals in terms of investment returns when the market is down, largely because the acquisitions that get done in tough times only get done if they have a compelling logic rather just than the backing of oodles of cheap debt.

    1 minute read

  • September 15, 2010 |

    Partners undaunted by law firm collapses

    Partners remain bullish that their firms can withstand financial shocks or the impact of mass partner departures despite the aftermath of Halliwells' recent collapse, according to new research. The latest Big Question survey found that 77% of partners remain confident that their firm is able to avoid 'severe financial problems' or a full-scale collapse. In contrast, only 17% of the 158 respondents to the survey admitted that they were 'a little' worried, while 6% of partners stated that they were 'very worried' about their firm.

    1 minute read